A prisoner who has been on the run for 10 years has finally been captured in Coventry.

Officers were called to the Big W store at Walsgrave Triangle on Friday afternoon to question a man suspected of shoplifting.

But when PCs Ross Bosdorff and Paul Darbyshire arrived they were unconvinced by the identity details given by the 34-year-old man.

He was taken back to the police station and officers were about to run his fingerprints through an electronic check when he admitted he was a prisoner who had escaped from Sudbury Prison in Derbyshire, in 1994.

Sgt Ian Tipton, from Stoney Stanton Road, said: ?This man could not give sufficient information as to his identity. He had no fixed abode and provided nothing that could be checked out.

?Back at the station the officers carried out exhaustive inquiries to try to ascertain his true identity.

?As they were about to check his fingerprints he finally admitted he had escaped from prison 10 years ago.

?What appeared to be a relatively minor offence of shoplifting turned out to be a much more serious matter.?

The man was serving a prison sentence for house burglary. The two officers involved have since been praised by their superiors.

Sgt Tipton said: ?This shows young officers using their initiative and carrying out inquiries based on a gut feeling.

?Having been on the run for 10 years, I think the prisoner might have been relieved the police had finally caught up with him.?

The man appeared before Coventry magistrates on Saturday charged with theft and was remanded in custody to appear again on Friday.